The next thing I knew, I was in his arms, and he was holding me so tightly while I just cried. I wasn’t even sure I was crying about him dancing with Olivia anymore.

He was moving his hand up and down my back. “Shh…baby, it’s all right.”

I pulled back and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. I took a deep breath and knew what I had to do. I had to be completely honest with him.

“He beat me so badly that last night that I ended up in the hospital.”

I saw the look in his eyes turn from hurt to anger. He swallowed and was about to say something.

I shook my head. “Let me just get this out.”

He nodded and grabbed my hands as we sat down on the ground.

“I met Roger in high school, and I fell fast and hard for him. He was the guy who all the girls wanted. Everyone said we were the perfect couple, that we were made for each other. He ended up getting an opportunity to work for his father in New York City. It was a no-brainer for me to just follow him there. I applied to a school in New York to pursue my dreams of getting into event planning.” I smiled and shook my head, thinking back to those first few months in New York.

“I think I always knew he was cheating on me early on after we moved to New York. One day, I found a note in his pants from someone at the office. I didn’t even confront him about it. I just pretended it wasn’t meant for him. Then…the first time he, um…”

Layton held my hands tighter, and I saw tears building in his eyes. My heart was pounding. All I wanted to do was get lost in Layton’s love and never think about Roger again. But I had to do this.

I cleared my throat. “The first time he hit me was over a stupid disagreement before a dinner party. He slapped me so hard that I was sure my eye was going to come out of my socket. The moment he did it, he apologized and said he didn’t know what had come over him. He blamed it on being so stressed out from his job and from trying to keep his father happy. He even cried. I actually ended up feeling bad for him…if you can believe that,” I said with a gruff laugh.

“Motherfucker.” Layton looked away.

I took a deep breath. “A few months went by, and things seemed to be back to normal. Then, he saw me talking to a guy outside our building. He was a neighbor, and I had just come back from a run, so he started telling me about a marathon. As soon as Roger and I walked into our apartment, he grabbed me by the arm, spun me around, and got right in my face. He kept yelling at me for flirting with the guy. I pulled my arm away and told him he was being an asshole and to stop being so damn jealous.”

I felt my body start shaking as I could still hear Roger’s voice and feel his breath on my skin. When I closed my eyes, I was brought back to that night.

“He got right in my face and started calling me a whore. He said I was never to call him names again. I told him to fuck off, and he…”

I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. As I felt Layton wipe them away, I opened my eyes and looked into his loving ones.

“Baby, I’m so sorry he hurt you.”

I smiled and took a deep breath. “He pushed me so hard that I flew backward and hit my head on the coffee table. I ended up missing three days of classes that week because I had a killer headache. When the beatings became a regular occurrence, I slowly started to pull away from my family and friends. If I wore a skirt that was too short, he would hit me. If I talked to another man or even looked at one, he would hit me. I kept telling myself that if he did it again, I would leave. But he broke me into a million pieces—not just by hitting me but also with his words. I felt like I deserved the punishments, and I often wondered if maybe I was provoking him, and I didn’t realize it.”

“God, Whitley, no! Of course you didn’t.”

“I see that now, but back then, I couldn’t see it. When I looked in the mirror, I only saw the person he wanted me to see—someone who was weak and not able to survive without him.”

“Jesus, Whitley. I don’t even know what to say.”

“That last night, we were at a company party. Roger was flirting with this girl, Lucy, all night. It turned my stomach at how openly he touched her and whispered in her ear. I got pissed and purposely danced with a coworker of his, Nick, who was up for the same promotion as Roger. I was thanking him for the dance, and I placed my hand on his arm. The moment I did it, I realized my mistake. I certainly paid for it when we got home. It was the worst beating of them all. I just knew that, this time, he was going to end up killing me because he was so angry. I woke up in the hospital, and…”

I started to cry a little harder as I thought about that night. I quickly wiped away my tears and smiled at Layton as I took a few deep breaths.

“When I woke up and realized I was okay, I decided that was enough. I was done. I would never again let him hurt me, physically or mentally. I remembered the man at the racetrack talking about the little town of Llano. I asked Court to move to Texas with me, and we started making plans for me to check myself out of the hospital and leave New York. I was so scared, Layton. You’ll never know how scared I was when I left, thinking he was going to walk into the apartment and see me packing up.”

Layton shook his head and looked into my eyes. “Where was he?”

“He had gone out of town for business. I knew that was my only chance to leave. So…I did. I left, and I never looked back.”

Layton moved closer to me. “Did you tell your parents?”

I smiled slightly. “I did. My father was so angry. I had to practically beg him not to drive to New York to beat Roger’s ass. He did tell me he better never see Roger again, or he would kill him.”

Layton placed his hands on the sides of my face, and the butterflies in my stomach took off with his touch.

“Whitley, I would do anything to take all that pain and hurt away. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. You amaze me, baby.”

I got up on my knees and wrapped my arms around him. He pulled back and cupped my face with his hands again as he used his thumbs to wipe away my tears.

“As God as my witness, I promise you, no one will ever hurt you again, baby. I’ll kill them before I let them hurt you.”

I slammed my lips against his and kissed him with everything I had. The moan from his lips moved through me like a warm blanket covering my body. I’d never felt so loved and so safe in my entire life.

In Layton’s arms, I knew I would always be safe.

I just wished I could shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Chapter Eighteen: Layton

I was so angry, and all I wanted to do was beat someone’s ass. It had about killed me to listen to Whitley tell me how that asshole had beaten her. The whole time, I’d made plans to track his ass down and give him a taste of his own medicine.

By the time we had returned to the party, Whitley seemed to be back to her normal self. She was laughing and talking to Courtney and Mitch about something.

When I felt a hand on my arm, I looked to see Olivia standing there. I rolled my eyes, and I looked back toward Whitley.

“Layton, please, can we go somewhere and talk? I just want a few minutes of your time. Please.”

I never took my eyes off of Whitley.

I love her. I love her more than the air I breathe.

Whitley glanced up, and her eyes captured mine. The way she stood there, looking so beautiful, actually caused my legs to shake.

“Sorry, Liv, don’t think so,” I said.

I started to walk up to Whitley as I watched Richard make his way over to her. He stepped in front of her, and I saw her smile and shake her head. I stopped right behind him.

“So, you won’t dance with me, Whitley? What? Are you, like, with Layton now?”

I put my hand on his shoulder and moved him out of the way as I looked Whitley in the eyes. The way they sparkled caused my stomach to do all kinds of weird shit.

Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” started playing, and I smiled bigger, causing her to laugh.

“Richard, Miss Reynolds is officially off the market.” I held out my hand, and she placed her hand in mine. “Dance with me?”

She glanced at Richard, and her smile faded just a little. “Excuse me, Richard. My boyfriend is asking me to dance with him.”

I laughed as I brought her lips to mine. We didn’t even talk during the song. I just spun her around as she kept laughing and throwing her head back. When the song ended, I dipped her, and she busted out in the biggest grin I’d ever seen.

“Will you accompany me to a fancy dinner in Austin on Monday night?”

She giggled and nodded as she bit down on her lip.

I brought her up and tilted her chin up toward me. I put my lips next to her ear. “I’m ready to leave.”

Pulling back from me, she licked her lips and gave me the sweetest smile as she nodded.

“Let me go tell Reed and Kevin that we’re leaving.”

I finally found Reed, Kevin, and Mitch all in the old deer cabin.

“What in the hell are y’all doing in here?” I looked at the three of them.

Kevin shook his head. “Reed here is drunker than a motherfucker, and Mitch isn’t too far behind. They’re arguing over Courtney.”

I looked between both of them. “What in the hell are you arguing about?”

Mitch looked over at Reed. “This fucker. I mentioned I was going to ask Courtney out, and he starts bad-mouthing her.”

Reed started laughing. “Dude, first off, I don’t think she is the type of girl who only dates one guy at a time. I mean, her job is to read fucking sex novels. She probably knows more about getting a guy off than you could ever dream. I’m just saying, she seems…very experienced, if you know what I mean.”

“Reed, knock it the fuck off. You don’t know the first thing about Courtney, so you need to shut your mouth,” I said as I looked over at Kevin, who seemed to be trying to get Reed’s attention and mine.

“You know, you’re right, Layton. I don’t have a clue about her fucking sex life, but you can’t tell me she doesn’t read those fucking sex books and then goes and finds a man to get off with it. She’s a bitch with a rich city-girl attitude.”

“Um, Reed…shut up,” Kevin said.

Reed kept running at the mouth. “Dude, if you really want to ask her out, go for it, but I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. That’s all I’m saying.”

Mitch looked behind Reed and closed his eyes.

“I mean, maybe you want a girl like that—”

I reached over and punched Reed in the arm. “Reed, shut the fuck up.”

“What? I call the whores as I see them.”

I heard a gasp, and Reed realized why we had all tried to get him to shut up. He slowly turned around and saw Courtney standing there. She looked like she was about to start crying, but she squared off her shoulders and cleared her throat.

“Um…Mitch, I was just coming to let you know I was heading back with Layton and Whitley. I’m, uh…I’m really tired and just wanted to say thank you for giving me the number to that painter. I, um…I guess I’ll see y’all around.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.